The Show
by Botsey
Summary: There is 'trouble in paradise'. Ever logical Spock cannot understand Nyota's emotional response to what he feels is a very honest observation. How does NYOTA resolve this?
1. Chapter 1

This story was originally posted with some other fluff. I have expanded it and decided to bring it out on its 'own'.

The Show

Of course, her Vulcan bondmate would never have defined their 'discussion' as an argument, because Vulcans do not argue, they state the logical facts, possibly their equally logical solution to a problem and then the subject is 'dropped'. The discussion had started after Spock had revealed to Nyota that she did not possess the ability to send refined or detailed messages through their bond. Of course, Nyota heartedly disagreed and challenged Spock. What is probably unknown is how seriously a Vulcan takes such a confrontational act.

Spock first reply to his bondmate's test of wills occurred during a bridge staff mid-week meeting. As Nyota sat with her eyes on the captain, suddenly through their bond was a visual of the most adorable kitten, added to the visual was the sound of it's purring, heard of course, only by her. The final picture sent was of the kitten who looked up to reveal it's blue eyes and then linked her face.

How could she keep a straight face even as the captain was discussing the possibility of serious problems with the inhabitants of the planet they were now orbiting.

Her husband's next onslaught took place as she was walking to mess. She knew he was already there seated at a table with her lunch placed neatly in front of the empty seat that was facing him. He was awaiting her arrival as her mind was flooded with a vision of a dancing crested cockatoo. She recognized the music as an ancient Vulcan chant. The bird's feet were moving to the beat, his head was going from side to side as his crest furled and unfurled.

As she seated herself facing Spock she said,

"Very funny Spock."

His right eyebrow raised and then he replied,

"This is a scientific study based on my estimation of the strength of our bond. My Vulcan abilities normally should surpass your own and that fact should really be readily accepted by yourself. There is no shame attached to the recognition of that which has been studied and proven. It would appear that it would be prudent that we now drop the subject…or as I prefer to call it, the study.

Nyota, quoting from an unknown source simply said,

"I will not go quietly into the night."

Spock tilted his head to the right, analyzed her reply, and then said,

"That is your decision?"

"Yes, although my abilities might not be superior to yours, I will prove to you that not only can my messages be detailed, they can last over an extended period of time."

As Nyota brought a spoonful of yogurt to her mouth, before her was a puppy slobbering all over her face. Dropping her spoon she eyed Spock and said,

"That took my appetite."

He replied,

"That was not my intention, I thought you liked puppies, kittens and birds."

"The real ones Spock, the real ones, and not ones in competition for my food."

With that she stood to leave and he now sent her a vision of their last 'romantic' evening. Although it was not his intent, it was that last message that planted the seed in her mind that would allow her to prove her point.

She arrived at their rooms twenty minutes before Spock was scheduled to appear, just enough time to set the stage and make her plan a reality.

When he entered he called for her and she answered from inside the sanitary facility. Once, by his movements she determined he was out of uniform, and dressed in his robe she sent her first picture message to him which stopped him in his tracks, and caused him to shake his head as if to clarify his thoughts.

The picture he received was Nyota in the sanitary facility with the door locked in front of the large wall mirror. Nyota was dressed in a dress that Spock had indicated was 'his favorite', a gold backless dress with matching elbow length gloves. She also was wearing a gold knit bolero jacket.

Nyota had brought in a portable music unit and turned on the music before she sent Spock a picture of how she looked with her back reflected in the mirror. The music that could be heard through the door was a song originally used by females who made a living removing their clothing as a form of entertainment;

Da da da da, da, da da da d.

With every drum beat Nyota gyrated her hips and she had raised her gloved hands up above her head. She heard the rustle of his robe as he swiftly walked to the door and tested the lock.

"Will you not open the door for me, My Nyota."

She did not answer but instead sent the picture of her starting to remove her gloves one finger at a time and he could see her reflection as she licked her lip, while doing so. With expressive gestures she tossed first one then the other glove behind her. She then turned around and slowly removed the gold bolero pulling it down off her shoulders with a side to side motion. Her purpose was to expose the lack of covering on her back. Even though her back was to the mirror she had kept her eyes on it the entire time in order to transmit the picture to a now quite tortured bondmate on the opposite side of the door.

Spock turned the door knob again as he visualized his aduna seat herself on the dressing table bench and turned the split in her dress so as to access the top of her patterned stockings. She lifted her legs so she could view her shoes, his favorite pair, the red heels. Lowering them to the floor she toed them off and then picked up one then the other and tossed them over her shoulder with great abandon. She heard the door knob being tested again.

Slowly reaching up her thigh she started rolling down her stocking on her right leg. As she bent forward her hair cascaded down in front of her. Her message continued as she performed the same service on her left leg. After she had removed both stocking she then stood and turned to expose her back again and reached up to her shoulder and brought the dress down to her elbow on both sides all the while smiling into the mirror.

"Ashyam will you not PLEASE open for me?"

"You must say the magic words."

"My Nyota, work performs miracles, words do not."

"In your case they could."

There was a slight lull and then Spock's question,

"Are you referring to a retraction of my original estimation of your abilities in transmitting information to me through our bond?"

"What do you think Spocky?"

The male of every already discovered species seemed to have a problem with their admitting the possibility of error. For that reason Nyota continued her visual through their bond which included the revelation that there was nothing between her body and the provocative gown.

She heard him approach the door and finally say,

"Nyota, I believe that I spoke prematurely in evaluating your ability in the proficient use of our bond."

On the other side of the door Nyota added,

"...And?..."

"For my incorrect estimation I do apologize."

"…And…"

"You have demonstrated extraordinary abilities in this area of communication."

"Apology accepted," was Nyota's reply

Spock turned the doorknob in expectation of finding a semi-dressed aduna, instead before him was Nyota fully clothed. Her cautionary message was,

"Be careful Spock, I do not wish anything to happen to our favorite dress."

Her message slowed our repentant husband down a bit, just a small bit. After all, what is more focused on a task then a Vulcan bondmate that realized the wonder of make-up… you know….


	2. Chapter 2

The Show

(Or Showdown(s)

Chapter Two

They were standing together on the shooting range. He was standing behind her, really close, Nyota could feel the heat of his body. It was quite distracting.

"You must focus, Lieutenant."

When working together in an official setting he always addressed her by rank. Nyota responded,

"Thank you Commander."

His stance changed and he moved closer, if such a thing was possible, and Nyota took a deep breath.

"You are making it difficult for me to concentrate."

"How so, Lieutenant."

"You are standing too close."

"What is in fact, 'too close'? We have on many occasions practiced our firing accuracy in this same way."

There was a slight blush that he observed making its appearance from her neck up.

Now switching to their bond,

'_Nyota, you appear unsettled…_'

He then searched deeper and was able to view what was uppermost in her mind…last night…together.

Reverting back to his official address,

"Lieutenant, you are allowing yourself to be distracted, a most undesirable state of mind."

"So, I presume you are never distracted."

"It is unlikely. Vulcans are noted for their ability to singularly focus, even in the midst of multitudes of distractions."

"And you, with your small amount of Terran DNA, do not ever have such an experience?"

In a defensive voice he said,

"As a genetically engineer hybrid, the small amount of Terran DNA in my makeup does not affect me adversely."

"So, my Terran DNA is viewed by you as adverse."

Spock opened his mouth to respond and no words were uttered, just an uncharacteristic silence. He was so whipped.

Nyota shifted her position, took her stance and fired three volleys, all bull's eyes. She nodded as she turned from him and proceeded to the desk to return her weapon. He watched his wife as she left his presence with neither verbal or silent words of departure. That did not forebode well for the time they would be together later in the day. He returned to his post.

During their next shift she determined how she would prove her aduna incorrect in his 'logical determination.' Instead of just transferring information through their connecting com units she went to his station, leaned forward, her upper body pressed on his shoulder and her hair over her shoulder right under his nose.

"Lieutenant it would have been quite satisfactory to have forwarded the information to my station."

She silently sent,

"But in that instance I would not have been able to enjoy your discomfort."

He had to admit, in this area she was indeed correct. Her presence had affected him, assaulting his sense of touch and sense of smell. He had noticed he had a physical response to that 'close encounter'. He then received through their bond her whispered words of endearment.

Out of the corner of his eye he observed his aduna slowly licking her lips.

Gesturing to his replacement he rose and went to the communication station, and gave the command for Nyota's replacement.

"Lieutenant, may I please speak to you in private."

"Certainly, Commander."

As soon as the doors closed he grabbed her and said,

"My Nyota, distractions 'Yes', provocation, 'No'

They reached their floor and she had to almost run to keep up with his long strides. He almost crashed through the door to their quarters and once the door closed he carried her to their bed with the words,

"I do have my breaking point My Nyota and with your usual tenacity you have found it."

Afterward as they returned to their stations, they both heard the captain said,

"As you WHERE."

Nyota sent to Spock,

'_I think not.'_


	3. Chapter 3

The Show (or Showdown(s)

Chapter Three

The bridge staff had had their weekly meeting and after the serious issues and schedulings had been resolved, they relaxed over games of cards and chess. Scotty had started to create jig-saw puzzles from sites the Enterprise had visited. Of course his was not the one hundred piece puzzles that did not challenge one's intellect and problem solving skills, his were one thousand or more pieces. He mentioned the he was planning on creating one that would cover an entire wall.

Spock had seated himself at the tri-level chess set and was arranging the pieces for a moderately difficult game. Nyota sat down opposite him and his head tilted to the right, and his eyebrow rose. He then sent,

"My Nyota, although your skills in this area have been proven, I was anticipating a timed game with our captain. This is an area that you have had experience."

"Do you think that I am unteachable?"

Realizing he was treading on unsteady ground, he replied,

"Your intellect is equal to any of those of us assigned to the bridge staff. My statement was not intended in any way to convey that thought."

"Alright Spock, your statements were not meant to convey a deficiency on my part, but what about your thoughts Spock, I am aware that in certain areas such as math calculations and computer science my training does not lend itself to compete with you, but chess does not fall into any of those categories."

Realizing that he had sort of, to use a Terran colloquial expression, 'painted himself into a corner' he removed the timer box from the shelf and put it on the table between them. Nyota nodded.

Nyota knew that she could not successfully defeat her adun in this challenging game, but she did so much want to prove a point…that a person should be judge not on assumptions, but on performance.

Spock questioned,

"What time interval do you prefer?"

"Twenty-five seconds."

Spock nodded and set the mechanics necessary to grant her wish. He made the first move. Spock was aware that for some moves as the game progresses, Nyota would have to stand to accomplish some of her moves. One thing that Spock was fully aware of, her graceful movements and accompanying scents would serve as a distraction which would require more intense concentration on his part. As the only female member of the bridge crew this of course would never be the case with any other persons who might engage in this chosen recreation.

Nyota's first move was her rook pawn to level two, an almost sacrificial move. Eyeing his wife, Spock took the necessary steps to remove her pawn and then awaited her next move, which had to be accomplished within the allotted amount of time. Nyota sighed as with her next moved Spock's right eyebrow raised and he took the required move. The game was over in what Terrans would say, 'record time'.

Nyota sighed and said,

"You were proved correct, but I do not want to hear about this ever again."

Spock sent,

'You loss was achieved valiantly and if you see fit at a later time we will play an untimed game.

"Spock, why do you think that is necessary?"

"As most males of my acquaintance have made the following assessment of their female mates in areas of decision making, females take a longer time to come to a decision that is satisfactory to them."

"So, then as a bridge officer, a decorated Star Fleet officer, you feel that I am incapable of making valuable decision 'off the cuff'."

"Off the cuff?

"Quickly Spock, well thought out decisions at that."

He sent

'I am witness to your abilities in the areas that have to do with your job assignment, but think My Nyota of the time it might take you to decide on garments to wear, hair ornaments, or shoes to use as accessories. Certainly you will have to see my logical assessment in this matter.'

Nyota's arms were defensively crossed against her chest when she sent,

'Can you not think of any area in our life where you suffer from the same hesitation?'

There was only one area in his life where he could agree with the similarity in an area of decision making.

Nyota filled in the blank when she sent,

Pajamas or no pajamas.


	4. Chapter 4

The Show (or Showdown(s)

Chapter Four

They were getting ready to beam down to the surface of Risa, the pleasure planet. Of course it was not Spock's first choice for R&R, but it was the choice of everyone but himself for the destination to enjoy some free time. In actuality, it would be four days and five nights away from any purposeful activity. He had downloaded some work from the main frame computer so he could occupy himself.

He had secured the same place they had spent their second 'honeymoon', in the caves, right above the beach. Of course, Spock had gone to that location because he knew that Nyota loved the beach, water and sun but as he had told her the first time they were on a beach together he would not immerse his body into a liquid that housed living creatures who ate, eliminated waste and procreated in those same waters. He had on occasion made use of the Academy pool, but it was not one of his favored pass times. The only time he had used the facility was when it was required, or Nyota was going and he was quietly present, in his protective mode to insure himself of her safety.

So, Nyota would swim in the local waters, while he 'relaxed' on the beach doing his 'homework'. During these times he would insist that their bond be open so he would be constantly aware of her continued safety. When Nyota appeared, glistening in the sunlight as the water droplets reflected the sunlight he knew where their next stop would be.

After an extended period of 'desert' and before second meal, Spock and Nyota decided to secure a vehicle and travel to a restaurant that was a distance away. Spock was forwarding some information to Star Fleet and Nyota went down to the front desk and collected all the necessary papers and told Spock she would bring the skimmer to the front door. When he saw Nyota, she was still seated in the pilot's position so he stood by that door and indicated that he would pilot the skimmer.

Nyota reluctantly moved to the co-pilot's seat as Spock slid into the pilot's side and she then asked,

"Did you feel that your life was in danger if I piloted the skimmer?"

"Certainly not, Nyota, you are a certified pilot with many hours of experience."

"While it is so that my piloting has always been in association with our job assignment, you assumed that I, although qualified, would not like to pilot the skimmer?"

"No, that is incorrect, you probably recall that usually, when we are traveling together and we are in need of a pilot, I have always assumed that responsibility. My reason for taking on the responsibility is that I know how much you enjoy watching the scenery, flora and local wildlife."

"Spock, if you look to your left, you will see endless beaches, to the right, endless cliffs, doted with caves, when we travel over the cliffs we will view jungles with hidden pools and lakes, we have been here before Spock, perhaps the adventure I was seeking was in the piloting of the skimmer."

"Nyota, would you like to exchange seating positions?"

"No, Spock I think not, I will work on a crossword puzzle and view the scenery."

Spock opened his mouth to make a statement, and thought better of it as he watched his aduna open her book and start to hum a song.

Sometimes 'silence is indeed golden,' or if not golden...safe.


	5. Chapter 5

The Show (or showdown(s)

Chapter Five

Spock was running his hands through her hair as she lay besides him shuttering in the aftermath of their intimacy. Her eyes were still closed when she asked,

"My Spock, how would you describe me?"

A mental 'red flag' popped into his consciousness. Of course he was fully aware of her mental prowess and extraordinary beauty. The question that came to his mind was how he should list these in a way to not 'distress' his aduna. If he listed her beauty first, and not her mental abilities, she might be offended or vice versa. He scoured his brain and voiced,

"You complete me."

She snuggled closer and started kissing his forehead, his eyes, his cheeks, and finally his lips.

"Spock, you answered perfectly. You have figured me out."

"Indeed. Long exposure to anything, pleasant or even unpleasant allows for acceptance and further understanding."

It took a nanosecond for Spock to wish he could reel in the second part of his observation as he felt his aduna stiffen…

"Unpleasant…exposure…?"

As she rose to kneel by him the sheet slipped, exposing her beautiful body to him and out of necessity he started to formulate a way out of his present situation…

"K'diwa, The 'Vulcan Way' dictates that all activity should be productive and my human half also adds, if at all possible pleasurable, or the Vulcan equivalent of that mindset, so search my mind and you will be able to determine in what area I have placed you, our bonding and continued place in one another's lives."

His hands reached up and he brought her down on top of his prone body as he murmured,

"Most pleasurable of all activities…"

Her non-verbal reply was,

"Umm, Umm."

Spock thought to himself, as he mentally smiled,

'I will live to spar another day.'

A/N:

This will be the last in this series for a while so I will not mark it as complete. When a series of scenarios present themselves I will add them. I have no idea how many times Spock will put his foot in his mouth or Nyota will totally perplex her adun, but as in all relationships, sometimes they will be funny, other times less so. Thanks so much for reading this segment.


End file.
